The New England Patriots’ second straight victory came in dominant fashion. The team of head coach Mike Vrabel defeated the visiting Las Vegas Raiders 45-17 at Gillette Stadium, improving to 3-2 on the year and decisively closing the book on its early-season struggles.
The win also has another effect: it moves the Patriots up in the AFC playoff standings and keeps them within striking range in the division.
AFC East standings
- Buffalo Bills (4-1)
- New England Patriots (3-2)
- New York Jets (2-3)
- Miami Dolphins (0-5)
The Patriots came close to taking over the AFC East lead on Monday night, but the Bills beating
the Rams 37-34 in overtime prevented that scenario from unfolding. They therefore remain one game behind their rivals, holding the ever-important head-to-head advantage following their win in Buffalo last week.
The Jets’ victory over the Browns means that they are also not too far off either at this point in the season. However, the upcoming game in Foxborough will be crucial for both teams: for the Jets to prove their legitimacy, and for the Patriots not to lose any further ground in the division.
As for the Dolphins, they continue to look like one of the worst teams in the NFL.
AFC playoff standings
- Kansas City Chiefs (4-0)
- Baltimore Ravens (4-1)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (4-1)
- Buffalo Bills (4-1)
- New England Patriots (3-2)
- Denver Broncos (3-2)
- Las Vegas Raiders (3-2)
On the bubble: 8. Cleveland Browns (3-2), 9. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2), 10. Cincinnati Bengals (3-2), 11. New York Jets (2-3), 12. Indianapolis Colts (2-3), 13. Houston Texans (1-4), 14. Miami Dolphins (0-5), 15. Los Angeles Chargers (0-5), 16. Tennessee Titans (0-5)
The Patriots’ win over the Raiders allowed them to leap-frog Las Vegas in the standings and move from the seventh to the fifth playoff seed. That is also possible due to their 3-1 conference record, and their strength of victory and strength of schedule being the highest and second-highest, respectively, among all AFC teams at the moment.
Still, the race for the playoff seeds remains very competitive at this early a stage in the season. Realistically, though, the cream will rise to the top over the next few weeks and some clubs prove themselves pretenders rather than being able to fight for one of the seven available spots in the postseason picture.
